天神

Japanese

Kanji in this term
天	神

Etymology

From Sinitic 天神. Date of borrowing unknown. Compare modern Mandarin 天神 (tiānshén, “god, godhead, divinity”).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Go'on
• IPA: [tẽ̞ɴd͡ʑĩɴ]

Usage notes

Less commonly read using the Kan'on reading tenshin: [tẽ̞ɴɕĩɴ]

Noun

天神: the hairstyle

天神 (hiragana てんじん, romaji tenjin)

1. the Japanese gods of the heavens
2. a noble wearing ordinary robes (robes not dyed to match the wearer's rank)
3. an umeboshi
4. an umeboshi pit
5. short for 天神髷 (tenjin mage) or 天神結び (tenjin musubi), a certain kind of bow-shaped topknot or bun hairstyle worn by women, popular in the late 1800s

Synonyms

• (gods): 天つ神 (あまつかみ, ama tsu kami)
• (umeboshi): 梅干し (うめぼし, umeboshi)
• (hairstyle): 天神髷 (てんじんまげ, tenjin mage)
• (hairstyle): 天神結び (てんじんむすび, tenjin musubi)

Derived terms

• 天神地祇 (てんじんちぎ, tenjin chigi): all the gods of heaven and earth
• 天神七代 (てんじんしちだい, Tenjin Shichidai): the seven generations of gods in Shintō mythology

Proper noun

天神: Sugawara no Michizane

天神: Tenjin-san, the Tenman-gū shrine to Sugawara no Michizane in Kitano

天神: Tenjin Station in downtown Fukuoka

天神 (hiragana てんじん, romaji Tenjin)

1. the Shinto kami of scholarship, the deification of Sugawara no Michizane (845-903 CE), a scholar, poet, and politician
2. a shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane
3. one of the traditional Noh masks, depicting one of the 鬼神 (onigami; kijin, “fierce gods”) as the vengeful spirit of Sugawara no Michizane, the lead role in the 雷電 (Raiden) piece
4. an area in downtown Fukuoka

Synonyms

• (shrine): 天満宮 (てんまんぐう, Tenman-gū)

Derived terms

• 天神ぞ (てんじんぞ, Tenjin zo): (archaic) for sure, for certain, absolutely, definitely
• 天神講 (てんじんこう, Tenjin Kō): a matsuri celebrating Sugawara no Michizane, held on the date of his death, 25 February (or on the 25th of every month)
• 天神祭 (てんじんまつり, Tenjin Matsuri): a matsuri celebrating Sugawara no Michizane, held on the date of his death, 25 February (or on the 25th of every month)

• 天神橋 (てんじんばし, Tenjin-bashi): a bridge over the Yodo River in Ōsaka
• 天神髭 (てんじんひげ, Tenjin hige): a beard of the style shown in [[depiction]s of Sugawara no Michizane
• 天神山 (てんじんやま, Tenjin Yama): the name of various mountains and other places around Japan
• 天神山古墳 (てんじんやまこふん, Tenjin Yama Kofun): a late-fourth-century kofun tomb in Gunma prefecture

External links

• 菅原道真 (Sugawara no Michizane) on the Japanese Wikipedia.ja.Wikipedia:菅原道真
• Sugawara no Michizane on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Sugawara no Michizane
• 天神 (福岡市) (Tenjin, Fukuoka) on the Japanese Wikipedia.ja.Wikipedia:天神 (福岡市)
• Tenjin, Fukuoka on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Tenjin, Fukuoka
• 福岡市 (Fukuoka City) on the Japanese Wikipedia.ja.Wikipedia:福岡市
• Fukuoka on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Fukuoka